Mom Disappointed by Baby's Sex Refuses to Quit Smoking & Drinking

A mom of 2 and notorious pregnant model from the U.K. is making international headlines after coming out swinging against ... her unborn baby. Josie Cunningham was so disappointed when she found out she was having a boy in October, she says she can't stop drowning her sorrows in wine and cigarettes. She also admits she would be behaving quite differently if she was having a girl.

In fact, she claims that after a psychic told her that her next child would be a girl, she quit smoking. But when the doctor confirmed otherwise, she resumed the bad habit. “I knew it could harm my child, but it didn’t stop me,” she told the Mirror. So, so wrong -- but also incredibly sad.

While a mother's disappointment over the gender of her child is most definitely controversial in itself, I would never personally begrudge anyone for being bummed one way or the other. I can completely understand why a woman might have high hopes for either a son or daughter, especially if she already has one (or several) of the other. My mother-in-law raised four boys when she found out she was expecting. Of course she hoped it was a girl! If she was a bit sad when she found out it wasn't, well, that's perfectly normal and okay.

What's obviously NOT normal is to cope in the way that Cunningham is. Maybe you wallow a little, but then you quickly work to wrap your head around how you're going to warmly welcome that little boy or girl. You do everything you can to ensure you have a bouncing, healthy baby.

Ultimately, all any parent should want is to have a happy, healthy child, regardless of their gender. To wittingly work against that goal is nothing short of sick and selfish, abusive to yourself and to your baby. What Cunningham is doing is extreme and heartbreaking -- but it must also be a desperate cry for help.

How do you feel about disappointment surrounding a child's gender? How about how this mom is handling hers?